In Wisconsin, we are required to go to school for the most number of hours out of every other state which leads to 130 extra instructional hours of school.
In a US News article published by Brett Ziegler, “Wisconsin schools rank 8th in the country for the best schools with New Jersey being first”.(pg 1) New Jersey however attends school for 200 less hours than us. Why is the state with the best education system going less hours than a state ranked lower? The consistent every day learning for students causes students to feel the pressure and encourages them to get through the hours instead of focusing on the learning at hand. In a 2021 article published by the Newport Institute which is an organization that focuses on academic pressure in teens they stated that, “85% of students feel mentally exhausted during the year and this constant academic pressure can lead to depression, anxiety, high levels of stress, and academic burnout." This constant every day 8 hours a day school can have students feeling exhausted, leading to the high number of school days causing more harm to students than benefits. However lowering the number of school days does not seem beneficial to school districts and parents of students who are struggling in school. States who have lowered the number of school hours end up having the lowest dropout rates and also the highest math and reading standardized test scores.